Hospital, homes evacuated amid flood threats in Illinois, elsewhere

Photos: Weather around the world – A rainbow appears in the skies above a Hong Kong office building on Wednesday, August 7. Click through to see other images of weather around the world.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A woman uses a parasol to block the sun's rays at the Bund, a popular tourist spot in Shanghai, China, on August 7.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A person dangles from a power line before diving into the Ganges River in Allahabad, India, on Tuesday, August 6, after heavy monsoon rains.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A man takes a nap at a recreation area in Salt Springs, Florida, on August 6.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A boy jumps into the Zegrze Lake near Warsaw, Poland, on August 6 to cool off during a heatwave.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A boy takes in the scenery at Malvarrosa Beach in Valencia, Spain, on the Mediterranean on Monday, August 5.

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Photos: Weather around the world – Lightning illuminates the sky near Görlitz, Germany, on Sunday, August 4.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A woman wears her clothes backward against the scorching sun in Jinan, China, on August 4.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A man prepares to secure his boat on the Ravi River in Lahore, Pakistan, on August 4. More than 50 people have died in flooding across Pakistan, officials say.

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Photos: Weather around the world – Women in maid costumes throw water to the ground in the Akihabara shopping district in Tokyo on Saturday, August 3. They were taking part in an annual summer event to cool off the street.

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Photos: Weather around the world – People watch a paraglider as they hike on the Niesen mountain in Switzerland, Friday, August 2. Temperatures reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit in central Switzerland.

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Photos: Weather around the world – People relax in the sun in Victoria Park in London, on Thursday, August 1.

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Photos: Weather around the world – People sunbath on lawns near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on August 1.

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Photos: Weather around the world – People take shelter from the heat in the entrance of a subway station in Shanghai, on Wednesday, July 31. More than 10 people have died in China's commercial hub, a local health official said as the city swelters in its highest temperatures for at least 140 years.

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Photos: Weather around the world – Children take the plunge to cool off in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Monday, July 29.

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Weather around the world – Men relax at a lake near Erfurt, Germany, on Sunday, July 28.

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Weather around the world – People fly kites during the Bali Kite Festival in Denpasar, Indonesia, on Saturday, July 27.

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Weather around the world – Umbrellas are out in force at an intersection in Hong Kong on Thursday, July 25.

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Weather around the world – A young elephant cools down with snow delivered to the Whipsnade Zoo near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England, on July 25.

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Weather around the world – During a rainstorm Wednesday, July 24, wild ponies are herded into the Assateague Channel for their annual swim from Assateague Island to Chincoteague, Virginia, to be auctioned off.

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Weather around the world – Boys dive into the cool water of the swimming pool "Schwanseebad" in Weimar, Germany, Tuesday, July 23. Meteorologists forecast the hot and sunny weather to continue in the country.

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Weather around the world – People make their way past a building clouded by a thick layer of mist on Monday, July 22, after torrential rain in Pyongyang, North Korea.

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Weather around the world – People cross a flooded road near the Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, India, on July 22. According to Hindu tradition, a bath at the confluence of three rivers -- the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati -- atones for sin.

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Weather around the world – Sunflowers blossom on a field near Langerwisch, eastern Germany, on July 22.

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Weather around the world – A man tries to make a phone call on Friday, July 19, in a flooded restaurant in Kunming, China, in the wake of Typhoon Soulik.

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Weather around the world – Hudson the polar bear plays with a block of ice to cool down at the Brookfield Zoo during a massive heat wave on Thursday, July 18, in Brookfield, Illinois.

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Weather around the world – A girl plays in the fountain called "Appearing Rooms," by Danish artist Jeppe Hein, in central London on July 18. The United Kingdom is experiencing a second week of heatwave conditions.

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Weather around the world – Swimmers enjoy the sunshine at an outdoor pool in central London on Wednesday, July 17.

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Weather around the world – Mason Kraft, 5, keeps cool at the Highland Park Splash Pad in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, July 15.

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Weather around the world – Sailboats dot Lake Ammersee, near Herrsching, in southern Germany on Saturday, July 13.

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Weather around the world – Rescuers evacuate residents with an excavator on Wednesday, July 10, after a landslide hit Wenchuan, China. Flooding that triggered the landslide reportedly has affected 1.5 million people.

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Weather around the world – A man reads a book in the sunshine on steps covered in artificial grass on July 10 in London.

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Weather around the world – A waterspout comes ashore in Oldsmar, Florida, on Monday, July 8. Authorities say the waterspout caused damage to the shingles of a home and knocked down tree branches and a mailbox, but no injuries were reported.

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Weather around the world – Heavy rains force people to walk across a flooded road and leave vehicles trapped on a viaduct in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in central China, on Sunday, July 7.

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Weather around the world – A man jumps into East Lake in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Wednesday, July 3.

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Weather around the world – A lightning strikes the San Nicolas Panotla community in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico, on Tuesday, July 2.

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Photos: Weather around the world – R.J. Hernandez, 8, of El Campo, Texas, is buried in sand as he tries to stay cool in Santa Monica on Friday, June 28.

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Weather around the world – A fisherman casts a net on the fog-enveloped Xiaodongjiang River in Zixing, China, on Tuesday, June 25.

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Weather around the world – Kayakers cast off from a boathouse on the Potomac River in Washington on June 25.

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Weather around the world – A strong line of thunderstorms approaches the Capitol with heavy rain and winds on Thursday, June 13, in Washington.

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Weather around the world – Floodwaters from the Elbe River inundate a yard with a swimming pool near Magdeburg, Germany, on Monday, June 10. Heavy rain has left rivers swollen across Central Europe.

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Weather around the world – A dog finds a spot on a rubber raft among groceries and bottles of butane as his owner pulls him through a flooded street in Elster, Germany, near the swollen Elbe River on Friday, June 7.

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Weather around the world – A boy cools off under a water tanker in New Delhi on Tuesday, June 4.

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Weather around the world – A cat seeks dry ground after flooding from the Vltava River in Kly, Czech Republic, on June 4.

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Weather around the world – Torrential rains leave Wehlen, Germany, flooded on June 4.

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Weather around the world – People cool off in a fountain at Washington Square Park in New York at dusk on Friday, May 31, as temperatures reached the 90s.

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Weather around the world – Indian youth jump from a wall into the Nizamuddin Baoli on a hot day in New Delhi, India, on May 28.

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Weather around the world – Heavy fog fills San Francisco Bay as seen from Sausalito, California, as the city's skyline struggles to peak through on May 28.

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Weather around the world – Sunbathers celebrate the Memorial Day weekend in Long Branch, New Jersey, on Monday, May 27. Jersey Shore beaches are reopening as the region recovers from Hurricane Sandy.

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Weather around the world – Rubble lines a wet street in a tornado-devastated neighborhood in Moore, Oklahoma, on Thursday, May 23. Severe thunderstorms barreled through this Oklahoma City suburb at dawn Thursday, complicating cleanup efforts three days after a powerful tornado ripped through the area.

Weather around the world – A woman passes along the seafront as the rain falls in Weston-Super-Mare, England, on Tuesday, May 14.

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Weather around the world – A sandstorm sweeps through Cairo, Egypt, on Monday, May 13.

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Weather around the world – People take shelter under umbrellas during a boat ride in heavy rain on the Spreewald Canals near Luebbenau, Germany, on Sunday, May 12.

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Weather around the world – Rain doesn't deter an outing in Jersey City, New Jersey, and even a view of Lower Manhattan despite the fog on Thursday, May 9.

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Photos: Weather around the world – A woman exits a cab during a rainstorm on Wednesday, May 8, in New York.

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Weather around the world – People soak up the spring sunshine on the River Cam on Monday, May 6, in Cambridge, England.

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Weather around the world – Two men drive cattle across the crocodile infested Tana River in Keny'as Tana delton on May 3. Flooding from heavy seasonal rains has killed more than 60 people and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes.

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Weather around the world – People in the Morazan neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, sort through the remains of their possessions after heavy rains left two people missing and destroyed streets and homes.

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Weather around the world – A lone fan watches snow fall during a delay in play between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, May 2. The game was postponed because of the weather.

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Weather around the world – Snow covers an outdoor bar in downtown Golden, Colorado, after a spring storm dumped more than a foot of snow on Wednesday, May 1. In nearby Denver, the average date for the last snow of the season is April 26, but the record for the latest snowfall was set June 12, 1947, according to the National Weather Service.

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Weather around the world – A bee harvests nectar on a sunflower as temperatures soar into the 90s on Saturday, April 27, in Quezon City, Philippines.

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Weather around the world – A man pours water over children swimming in an inflatable swimming pool to beat the heat in Manila, Philippines, on Friday, April 26.

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Weather around the world – Fields and meadows are flooded by the waters from the Oder River near Lebus, Germany, close to the border with Poland, on April 26. The meadows along the Oder are regularly flooded during spring.

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Weather around the world – A Pakistani motorcyclist crosses a flooded street after heavy rain in Peshawar on April 26. Pakistan has suffered devastating monsoon floods for the last three years, including the worst in its history in 2010, when catastrophic inundations killed almost 1,800 people and affected 21 million.

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Weather around the world – Horses and jockeys return to stables in damp weather at the Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Friday, April 26. Preparations are under way for the upcoming Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

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Weather around the world – Arnold Gropper, left, and Werner Simm fish at Lake Forggensee on Thursday, April 25, near Füssen, Germany.

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Weather around the world – Chef Paul Prudhomme heads to the Zurich Classic Pro-Am clubhouse at TPC Louisiana as officials order the evacuation of all temporary structures after a tornado warning in New Orleans on Wednesday, April 24.

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Weather around the world – The grounds crew covers the field at Fenway Park in the eighth inning because of rain during a game between the Oakland Athletics and the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, April 23, in Boston.

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Weather around the world – People take in the spring sunshine at Parade Gardens in Bath, England, on April 23.

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Weather around the world – A camel herder guides his animals during a sandstorm on the edge of Khartoum, Sudan, on Saturday, April 20.

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Weather around the world – Hector Duran uses his bike to get through floodwater on Friday, April 19, in Des Plaines, Illinois. The suburban Chicago town is battling rising floodwater from the Des Plaines River.

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Weather around the world – Children still feel the bite of winter weather in Taiyuan, the capital of north China's Shanxi Province, on April 19.

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Weather around the world – Sunshine bathes the banks of Inner Alster Lake in Hamburg, Germany, on Thursday, April 18.

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Weather around the world – Dark clouds hang over the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on April 18.

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Weather around the world – Debris litters a river after a tornado and hailstorm hit Zhenyuan County in China's southwest Guizhou Province on April 18.

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Weather around the world – People make their way along Champa Street in downtown Denver during a spring storm on Wednesday, April 17.

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Weather around the world – A man rides a bike during a heavy sandstorm in Yecheng county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Tuesday, April 16.

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Weather around the world – A woman feeds a pig in her yard during a flood in the Belarus village of Snyadin near the Pripyat river on April 16.

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Weather around the world – A sandstorm strikes Baghdad on April 16, during a rally where the head Shiite Muslim leader Ammar al-Hakim was speaking.

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Weather around the world – A youth jumps into a water well to cool off in Hyderabad, India, on Wednesday, April 10.

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Weather around the world – Warm spring weather finds New Yorkers relaxing along the East River in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, April 9.

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Weather around the world – Cherry blossoms bloom in Washington on Monday, April 8. A colder-than-normal March and chilly April delayed the beginning of the cherry blossom season. Peak bloom was originally predicted between March 26 and March 30.

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Weather around the world – People enjoy sunny spring weather, a break from an unusually cold spring, near the Louvre Pyramid at the Cour Carree of the Louvre Museum on Sunday, April 7, in Paris.

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Weather around the world – A passenger ship makes its way through a channel to the Swedish island of Husaro on Friday, April 5.

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Weather around the world – Tourists travel on a ferry near blooming cherry blossoms on the Okazaki Canal in Kyoto, Japan, on April 5.

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Weather around the world – Villager Fu Xianxing, 70, walks on a dried-up field Tuesday, April 2, in Suining, China. A severe drought has caused a shortage of drinking water in the area in southwest China's Sichuan province.

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Weather around the world – Children play on the beach in Gaza City during a dust storm on Monday, April 1.

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Weather around the world – Snowboarders and skiers wait to take a ski lift at Feldberg Mountain in Schwarzwald, Germany, on Friday, March 29.

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Weather around the world – A supermarket semi-truck passes icicles and ice-covered shrubs near Hazeley Bottom, England, south of Reading, on Wednesday, March 27.

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Weather around the world – A road sign peeks above a flooded street in Badolatosa, Spain, on Monday, March 25.

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Weather around the world – Snow covers the shrubbery around the White House on Monday, March 25.

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Weather around the world – Snow collects on a man sleeping on a bench early Monday, March 25, in Washington, D.C.

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Weather around the world – U.S. soccer player Clint Dempsey, No. 8, is surrounded by snow during a FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifier match between Costa Rica and the United States in Commerce City, Colorado, on Friday, March 22.

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Weather around the world – Cherry blossom trees are bloom in Tokyo on Friday, March 22, in a sure sign spring has arrived in Japan.

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Weather around the world – Cold weather keeps Britons bundled up as they cross the London Bridge on March 22.

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Weather around the world – A bicyclist pulls a child on a sled through the snow on Thursday, March 21, in Berlin.

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Weather around the world – A tornado leaves scaffolding in tatters on Wednesday, March 20, in Daoxian, China.

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Weather around the world – Paramilitary guards walk along a street following an overnight snowfall in Beijing on March 20.

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Weather around the world – World War II veteran Sam Melnik, 90, shovels snow from his driveway on Tuesday, March 19, in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

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Weather around the world – A jogger runs across a snow-covered street in Berlin on March 19.

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Weather around the world – A woman takes a picture of the blooming almond orchards as spring arrives in Srinagar, Kashmir, on Monday, March 18.

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Weather around the world – The aurora borealis lights up the sky at twilight on Sunday, March 17, between the towns of Are and Ostersund, Sweden.

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Weather around the world – Trees are covered with ice on Saturday, March 16, near the town of Klina, Kosovo.

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Weather around the world – An early flower is seen through a blanket of melting snow at the Palmengarten botanical gardens in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, March 14.

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Weather around the world – Cows search for edible grass in drought-stricken paddocks on March 12 in Waiuku, New Zealand. Drought was declared in several North Island areas last week, including South Auckland, Northland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato.

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Weather around the world – Brief but heavy snowstorms move across the Yorkshire moors on Monday, March 11, in the United Kingdom.

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Weather around the world – A nun walks through the rain under an umbrella in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday, March 10.

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Weather around the world – A cyclist makes his way along a snowy track near Ladmanlow, United Kingdom, on March 10 as a return of freezing temperatures and snow delay springtime weather for Great Britain.

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Weather around the world – A Chinese woman covers her head with a scarf as she walks near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Saturday, March 9, as strong winds and dust storms swept the Chinese capital.

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Weather around the world – Fog shrouds a dog and its owner as they walk beside Bourne Brook, in Toft Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, on Friday, March 8.

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Weather around the world – A pedestrian walks past a mural at the beginning of a winter storm in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Thursday, March 7.

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Weather around the world – People walk as snow falls at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 6.

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Weather around the world – People stand under the snow-covered "Cloud Gate" sculpture, commonly known as "the bean," on Tuesday, March 5, in Chicago, Illinois.

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Weather around the world – Left to right: Anthony Jordan and his 6-year-old twin sons Griffin and Landin shovel their driveway in Sycamore, Illinois, on March 5.

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Weather around the world – Lightning strikes over Jakarta's skyline late on March 3 during monsoon rains.

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Weather around the world – Tourists enjoy donkey rides on Filey Beach on March 2 in Filey, England.

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Weather around the world – A man covers his face as he walks around Tiananmen Square during a sand storm in heavily polluted weather in Beijing on February 28.

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Weather around the world – A man and a dog cross the flooded graveyard in the village of Monospitovo, Macedonia, on February 27. Torrential rains poured down on the Strumica Valley, destroying or damaging crops and households.

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Weather around the world – Ducks fly over the frozen Titisee Lake in Titisee-Neustadt, Germany, on February 27.

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Weather around the world – Frost-covered plants are seen on banks of the Usiazha River near the Belarus village of Usiazha, on February 26.

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Weather around the world – A person walks through the snow at Marienplatz in Munich, Germany, on February 26.

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Story highlights

"About half" of London Mills, Illinois, or 200 people, is evacuated, a police chief says

Flood warnings are in effect for parts of seven states as rivers and creeks rise

More than 600 flights are canceled in Chicago, which had its rainiest ever April day

A northern Illinois hospital, 2 mobile home parks in Illinois evacuated, an official says

Record-setting rains in parts of the Midwest have caused hundreds of flight cancellations and flooding, with one northern Illinois hospital evacuating patients due to rising floodwaters.

Forty-four patients were removed Thursday from Morris Hospital in Morris, Illinois, due to the threat of rising floodwaters from the nearby Illinois River that had already soaked the two-story facility's ground floor, said hospital spokeswoman Janet Long. Of those, 27 were transferred to other hospitals and 17 ended up going home or back to their nursing homes.

The evacuation was precautionary, Long said, adding that the hospital's emergency department will remain open Friday -- when the Illinois River is expected to crest around 7 a.m.

Along the same river about 25 miles west in Ottawa, a voluntary evacuation order has been issued for residents in the eastern part of that city, said LaSalle County emergency management official Connie Brooks. Some 100 people have already left two mobile home parks 10 miles farther west in Utica, she added.

Rising rivers are just one of the headaches tied to torrential rains in recent days. Back streets and highways have also been inundated by flash floods around Illinois, Indiana and elsewhere, while thousands of would-be air travelers have found themselves stranded.

In one 24-hour span reported Thursday afternoon -- at a time when heavy rain was continuing to fall -- some spots in the Chicago metropolitan area had seen nearly 7 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. To put that in perspective, the city averages 3.38 inches of precipitation for the entire month of April.

Wednesday was the sixth-wettest April day recorded at O'Hare International Airport. But that was just a taste: By 7 a.m., morning rain had already made Thursday the rainiest April day ever for Chicago.

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By Thursday night, most flash flood warnings for the region had been canceled. But parts of seven states had flood warnings, some of which extend until next week, due to concerns about creeks and rivers overflowing their banks.

The North Skunk River in Sigourney, Iowa, for example, was at 22.1 feet and rising at 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET) Thursday -- well above the flood stage of 16 feet.

"About half the town" of London Mills -- which equates to about 200 people in the central Illinois community some 35 miles west of Peoria -- was evacuated Thursday as the Spoon River continues to rise well above flood stage, said the village's police Chief Scott Keithley. At least seven structures are flooded, and parts of Illinois Route 116 are underwater.

"This is the worst flooding I've seen," Keithley said.

And in Chicago, the Chicago River set a record when it crested at 8.57 feet, smashing the record of 7.86 feet set in 2008, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Chicago Department of Aviation reported at one point Thursday that more than 600 flights had been canceled. The situation had improved somewhat by night's end, though, at which time the Federal Aviation Administration -- for seemingly the first time in days -- wasn't reporting significant delays at the city's O'Hare Airport.

American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said severe weather is affecting its hubs not only in Chicago but also in Dallas/Fort Worth. American and American Eagle have canceled 413 flights on Thursday because of weather, he said.

And Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz cited delays and cancellations because of weather in Chicago and storms in other parts of the Midwest.

Getting the latest warnings when tornadoes are headed your way and knowing what to do before, during and after one hits are all key to staying safe. A handful of apps can help you stay on top of impending dangerous weather.